Agyness "Pants on Fire" Deyn Lied about Her Age

Agyness Deyn has been making a lot of changes to her life lately—including her age. Although rumors always persisted, the 29-year-old former model recently admitted in an interview with The Guardian that she chopped a few (six!) years off her age in order to conform to industry expectations.

"When I decided I would really do modeling I was like 18, and I think at the time that was quite old for a new face, so we knocked off a few years," she says. "But it was my birthday last week, and Henry [Holland] was saying how old would you have been? Cos it got really complicated—when personal and work collide—and Henry was like: 'But it looks like I started being friends with you when you were four or something!'"

Personally, I don’t get why people hide their age. While it’s more understandable to round down (or outright lie) when you’re older, some of the most stylish, beautiful women I can think of hit their stride after 30. And I find it bizarre that an 18-year-old would ever pretend to be 16. Back in my day,18-year-olds tried to pass for 21.

The list of beautiful actresses over 40 is more forgiving than the one for models (Salma Hayek, Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry, Cate Blanchett, Rachel Weisz), so it shouldn't matter much to Agy anymore now that she's left the catwalk for the stage. Last week in London, she debuted her acting skills in her first play, The Leisure Society to enthusiastic reviews.